Intersection rebuild aims for safety, but questions linger

Before the July 23-24 weekend, the new intersection of County Highway H and County Highway K was completed. That intersection is an important vein in travel across Clark County, connecting communities on the southern end of the county to the north, and the east to the west.

While important, the intersection has long been known to be dangerous. There have been numerous fatalities and accidents in the area, with six recorded crashes between 2017 to 2021, including a double fatality in July 2020. The reconstruction project this year was made in an attempt to correct the visibility issues and other concerns residents had to try to stop accidents from occurring at the site. However, after seeing what the result of the work is, we have some thoughts.

Leading up to the reconstruction, it was known that the Highway H and K intersection had low visibility to the east for anyone planning to cross or turn onto Highway H from Highway K, with the grade of the hill shortening the window of time that a driver could see the approach of an oncoming vehicle prior to entering the intersection. The plan was to reduce the vertical profile of County H east of the intersection by 4 to 5 feet, presumably improving the stopping sight distance.

After driving through the intersection ourselves several times and viewing the completed work, we are struggling to see much of a difference in visibility for those drivers crossing from Highway K. It’s hard to tell exactly how much the hill was actually lowered, but the fact that we’re struggling to even be able to tell a difference at all in how much was taken off the top doesn’t bode very well for the argument of improved visibility. The road looks nice, but can you actually see farther than before? It is very hard to compare.

What does not help either in this review of whether or not visibility has actually improved is where signage on Highway H ended up being placed. This again affects drivers coming from Highway K who are either attempting to cross or to turn. This time, it is not just visibility to the east that is affected, but to the west as well. Upon approaching the intersection from either end of Highway K and stopping at the newly-painted stop line, when you look left to check for approaching traffic, the view is blocked in either direction by the back of a sign. We see that as a hazard that can and should be corrected.

Now, not all is bad news. Those that workedontheprojectshouldbeapplauded for the work they did to try to improve the intersection to make it safer for traffic. Turn lanes were added for vehicles on Highway H to be able to turn right onto Highway K from either direction, which should help with the flow of traffic. The entry points to the intersection on Highway K were also widened to allow traffic turning right to be able to do so easier. These are all things that we hope will benefit the area and lower the chance of an accident occurring.

However, a word of caution is warranted. The changes done to the Highway H and K intersection should not be taken as a solution that will magically prevent an accident from happening there again. There is always the chance that something will happen. That is much more likely to occur if a driver is distracted, not following the rules of the road, or thinks the work done on the intersection erases all the problems and concerns drivers had about the area in the first place.

We ask that anyone who uses the intersection does so with a sense of caution and a healthy dose of defensive driving. When planning to cross or turn onto Highway H, look left, right, and left again — and really look; don’t just go on autopilot. Don’t let a temporary lapse in attention turn into a tragedy that changes your life forever. Be sure to look both ways, follow the posted speed limits and signage, and above all, be alert.

The Tribune Record Gleaner (TRG) editorial board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and TRG staff Cheyenne Thomas and Valorie Brecht.